And This Too Shall Pass

Isabella, the key holder to the gates of reality, swung the rickety, old fence open to reveal an old mobile home. This was her home. She allowed her red-tailed boa to wrap once more around her frayed, blue sweat shirt and took a drag from the cigarette in her hand before opening the door. She was met by a disdainful look from her cat.

“Hello, Lizzy,” she whispered fondly to the cat. “Where are we off to now? What mysteries are out there for us to explore today and what new people shall we share the wonders of the universe with?”

She flicked ash from the tip of her cigarette and swung her long blonde hair gracefully over her shoulder, only to hear a loud knock on her door.

“I wonder who that can be,” she muttered and opened the door.

Looking down at her with a twinkle in his eyes was Horace, the impediment stopping other realities from being viewed by the average person, and her exact opposite in every way.

“What are you doing here?” she said irritably, “I already rejected your marriage proposal fifty years ago.”

Horace took a moment to look at the snake still wrapped around her body: “And on which travel did you find that beauty?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Does it matter?” she glared at him.

“Are you going to let an old friend in? Surely it can do you no harm,” he said amiably.

Begrudgingly, she allowed him him to enter the house.

“Find a seat wherever,” she said carelessly, “This whole place is a mess.

Taking the initiative from her, Horace removed the empty coffee mugs perched on a rickety wooden chair and sat down.

“So how is life treating you Isabella, the people watcher? Still moving on from world to world, destroying the boundaries I place that allow people to live happily, and not chase the shadows of other realities?” he questioned sardonically.

“Happily?” she retorted. “You joke. I open up the doors for those who search for more and never find. They are not happy!”

“Ah yes,” he murmured. “And does it make them happier to see the mysteries of life? To jump from world to world always seeking more? To move on and never attach themselves to anything? Are they happy?”

“Why are you here!” Isabella bristled.

Horace ran his fingers through his long, dark hair: “I came to see you, dear.”

“I don't need you,” she stiffened, “and don't you dare try your seduction tactics on me. I see the openness of the world. The could be's. I see the different time lines and possibilities and answers and questions. I would never lose it for anything.”

She raised her chin haughtily in the air.

“But Isabella,” he said softly, leaning forward and touching her hand, “Don't you want a nice house somewhere? And a lovely family with all of your pets? You could wake up every day and see the person you love and drink your coffee with them every morning and not be lonely ever again. And you would have people there for you. Friends and happy children.”

“No, no, no, no,” she jerked her hand away, tears filling her soft gray eyes. “And this too shall pass. What's the point of it all. It will disappear just like everything else, and then I will be alone again.”

“Be attached to something, Isabella,” he intreated her beseechingly, “For once in your life. What are you searching for? You can go back to searching once it is all gone.”

She looked mournfully at the floor: “I don't want to lose anything. I just want to be a detached viewer of the world who understands everything and can be there for anyone.”

“Don't be afraid,” he said gently. “How can you understand everything without experiencing everything? Without experiencing the pain that other people feel? And the joy.”

“Come on, love, I can give you a reality, even if only for a time.”

Her hands trembled: “I don't want to lose you. It's better if you leave and I forget. I should depart far away with Lizzy.”

But he had already taken a firm hold of her hand again, and she did not resist. And this too shall pass she thought. This too shall pass. Why was she so afraid?